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King Richard III
Richard III (October 2, 1452 – August 22, 1485), was previously the Duke of Gloucester, then reigned as King of England from 1483, until his death at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485. Despite the controversy of his reign, he was renowned for his loyalty and military prowess, as is seen in his motto, Loyalte me Lie. He was born in Fortheringhay Castle on the 2nd October 1452, the youngest surviving child of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and his wife, Cecily Neville. Richard married the youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick, Anne Neville in 1472. Being first cousins, the pair had known each other since childhood, especially as Richard was trained to be a knight by Anne's father from the age of thirteen. They went on to have a son, Edward of Middleham, who later died in 1484, just 10 months before Anne herself died. Role in the Series: Part One Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is introduced at court in episode One following King Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, along with his brother George Plantagenet,Duke of Clarence; he greets his new Queen politely. In episode Two, Richard is next seen at Elizabeth's formal coronation as Queen. During the banquet, he seems amused but indulgent of Anne Neville's naiveté, and offers for her to sit opposite him; there is clearly an attraction between them. He later competes in a hawking contest against Elizabeth's brother, Anthony Woodville, to whom he graciously looses- prompting Edward to remark to Elizabeth that Richard is more of a gentleman than their middle brother George, the Duke of Clarence. Later in the episode, when the Earl of Warwick (Anne Neville's father) arrives with the captured King Henry VI, Richard draws a sword and attempts to kill Henry in revenge for his father's death, but is stopped by George and Edward. In episode Three (set about three years later), when Warwick has abducted Edward and assembled Parliament in attempt to depose him in favor of George, Richard remains loyal to his eldest brother, speaking out against Warwick and George's attempted coup. His oratory is evidently successful, as Edward is later released and restored, though Warwick and George are pardoned. While discussing Warwick and George's second betrayal in episode Four (which has forced them to flee to France) Richard and Edward are informed that Warwick has made an alliance with the Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou, by betrothing his daughter Anne to her son Prince Edward of Westminster; Richard is visibly dismayed by the news. He and Edward ride out to meet Warwick's new army, but due to deliberate misinformation by Warwick's agents they become trapped and are forced to flee to Flanders. The Lancastrian King Henry VI is then restored to the throne by Warwick. In episode Five, Edward and Richard return to England with forces raised by Charles of Burgundy and re-take London. George defects back to their side, due to Edward's offer of mercy and the fact that he cannot become King now that Warwick has thrown in his lot with the Lancastrians. At the Battle of Barnet, Richard fights superbly well, cutting through many Lancastrians until he, George and Edward face a surrounded Warwick, who is then killed by a pair of Yorkist soldiers. The York brothers later observe Warwick's body lying in state; George begins sneering that they should have his head put on display, to which Richard curtly replies that George should not be talking about the fates of traitors, given that he twice betrayed them with Warwick in the hope of overthrowing Edward. Edward cuts off their bickering, reminding them that Warwick was a brave warrior and without him they could never have won the throne in the first place. Richard agrees, saying they should remember Warwick for the hero he was, not the traitor he became. At the battle of Tewkesberry, the three York brothers are again victorious, killing Edward of Westminster. Following the battle, Richard's men capture Margaret of Anjou and Anne Neville (now a Dowager Princess of Wales by marriage). Richard rescues Anne when some Yorkist soldiers attempt to sexually assault her, informing her of Prince Edward's death. Margaret attempts to bargain with him, claiming that if he helps her escape she will make him her heir and they can return to depose his brother; noticing his attraction to Anne, she offers her as well, to which Anne angrily remarks that she has no power over her anymore (which impresses Richard). As Margaret is taken into custody and transported to the Tower, Anne asks if she will meet the same fate, to which Richard replies that he hopes not, given that she was probably just doing what she was ordered to by her father and the Lancastrians. Anne confesses that she had an opportunity to go to sanctuary with her mother, but that she instead chose to go with the Lancastrians on the remote hope of still fulfilling Warwick's greatest wish: that the Nevilles would join the Royal Line. Richard admiringly says she chose to fight on and that she is her father's daughter. He asks teasingly if she loves him and the King (as the Sons of York) to which she answers yes; he thinks that will be enough to pacify Edward, and offers to take her to her sister. The night after the York brothers' triumphant return to London, Queen Elizabeth notices them covertly entering Henry VI's room in the Tower of London, where Richard holds him down while Edward smothers him with a pillow. This leaves the Lancastrians with no leader for their cause except Henry Tudor, who is in exile in Brittany. Role in the Series: Part Two In episode Six, Richard observes as Anne is presented to King Edward and Queen Elizabeth; he is relieved when Edward forgives Anne and allows her to reside in the Palace, though due to her status as a Lancastrian widow she is put under the "guardianship" of her sister (who is married to Richard's brother George). However, Richard is then virtually unable to see her for the next six months; his inquiries about her to George are dismissed with claims that she is ill or still in mourning for her husband, which Richard doesn't believe. When he finally chances upon her she angrily says he had promised to save her, not imprison her. Shocked, Richard asks her to meet him in the garden later that night, where she explains to him his brother's plan: George is married to her sister Isabelle, which makes him in line to receive half of the Neville family fortune once their mother (Warwick's widow, who is still in sanctuary) dies. Through his guardianship to Anne, George keeps her enclosed in the palace, unable to leave or marry, which will leave the entire Neville fortune to him if she remains unmarried. Richard, furious at his brother's deviousness and greed, encourages her to play along and try to earn herself some level of freedom, while he will approach the King on her behalf at the right moment if she wishes. She asks him why he would help her, to which he smiles and says, "Why do you think?" Richard witnesses the conflict between the King and Queen over sending their infant son to Ludlow Castle; he backs the King, pointing out that the Prince of Wales traditionally stays in Wales. He later attempts to gauge George's intentions for Anne, but George tells him to stay away from her. Anne initially takes Richard's advice and is allowed freedom to join the Royal party on a hunt, where she observes Margaret Beaufort's servant speaking to Richard. He later explains that Margaret had expressed interest in marriage to him, at which Anne derides her as ancient, ugly and fanatical. Richard points out that she is also one of the wealthiest women in England; hurt, Anne retorts that, if she had control over her own family fortune, she could also marry whom she pleased. She observes that he hasn't spoken with the King yet, and that if she wants to get anywhere she will have to rely on herself alone However, this plan backfires when Anne overplays her hand by asking George about the possibility of re-marriage; George threatens to put her in a nunnery, cutting off her freedom entirely and leaving her unable to speak to anyone. Desperate, she sends a secret message to Richard and meets him again at night in the gardens. Richard warns her that George will not hesitate to carry out his threat and that her only hope for now is to run away and seek sanctuary. He asks her if she is sure, and she replies that Margaret of Anjou taught her never to hesitate. Richard pauses, then asks her if she will marry him, which catches her completely off-guard; after a moment, she realizes he will inherit half of her mother's fortune as a result. Richard remarks that this is true, but by marrying him she becomes Duchess of Gloucester, and equal in rank to her sister. And, more importantly, Richard will prove a faithful and dutiful husband, because he truly loves her. Anne happily accepts his proposal, and they kiss. Later, Richard visits Edward, to whom George is loudly berating him for having snuck Anne out from under his nose. Richard asks Edward's permission to marry Anne, which infuriates George, but Edward, amused, points out to George that he never asked his permission to marry Anne's sister Isabelle. They are interrupted with news of Elizabeth's premature labour. However, Richard is shown marrying Anne at Westminster Abbey a short while later, indicating that he did get Edward's permission. They have a happy wedding night. By episode Seven, a few years have passed since Richard's marriage to Anne, and he and George are watching irritably as Edward indulges in an orgy while his wife Elizabeth is in labor. George and Richard both lecture him on behaving so self-indulgently; George suggests they should win glory by re-taking France, which he could act as regent for since Edward is already King and Richard holds many government positions. Although eager to prove his worth in battle once again, Richard is suspicious of George's motives, and when Edward leaves to consider a new war with France he warns George that he has not forgotten his past betrayals. George retorts that, in spite of him being in line for the Earldom of Warwick, Richard and Anne are the ones living at Warwick Castle; both brothers are extremely wealthy, but Richard is clearly much more favored than George and George wants his share of the power that Richard and Edward possess. Richard then returns to Warwick Castle and happily greets his wife Anne and their infant son. He reveals that he has arranged to keep her mother, Dowager Countess Anne Beauchamp, at Warwick much to Anne's displeasure. Richard later reveals to Anne that George had once again attempted to get his hands on the entire Neville fortune, so he and Edward moved her into Richard's custody as security that the fortune would be divided equally between him (as Anne's husband) and George (as Isabelle's husband). Parliament has passed an edict declaring the Countess dead so that the division will happen immediately, meaning Lady Beauchamp must spend the rest of her life enclosed wherever Anne sees fit. Lady Beauchamp protests, but Richard coldly replies that since she defected to the Lancastrians with her husband, she is a traitor and she must accept confinement, imprisonment in the Tower, or death. Lady Beauchamp attempts to turn her daughter against Richard, revealing a document that supposedly allows Richard to annul his marriage to Anne and still take her fortune (given that they did not receive Papal dispensation) but though Anne becomes somewhat worried, she refuses to side with her mother, pointing out that Richard has no need to cast her off now that she has borne him a son. When she and Richard later discuss his suspicions about George and their oncoming war with France, Anne expresses concern for him and promises they will have more children; Richard lovingly replies that he doesn't care how many children they have as long as he has her. When they reach France, Richard (like George) is angered when Edward agrees to a premature peace treaty with Louis XI that promises the English gold and marries the Dauphin to one of Edward's daughters. Both George and Richard see this as a betrayal, and blame Elizabeth's influence for it. When Edward indulges in another orgy after the treaty is signed, Richard disgustedly observes to George that their father, Richard of York, would weep if he could see them now. He expresses his frustration at being unable to win battle glory in his letters to Anne, and again when they return home; he becomes further offended when Edward tries to pacify him with gold, though his irritation is nothing compared to George's fury and paranoia at not being named Regent of France. Richard seems astonished by his brother's claims that Elizabeth poisoned both his dog and Isabelle (who dies of childbed fever midway through the episode) and dismayed by his gradual descent into an insane paranoia. He admits to Anne that George is seeking to re-marry, but that even if he makes a successful match, he's not likely to stop there, given his rabid ambition. Later, at a festival to celebrate Edward's fifteen years as King, George appears and begins ranting against Edward, revealing to the whole court how he and Richard murdered King Henry in the Tower. Richard and three other men seize George, who was already wanted on suspicion of treason. His mother, Duchess Cecily, pleads for him to act on George's behalf. Although Richard seems indecisive about condemning his brother to death, he is angered when his mother makes it clear she would not have minded as much were it he or Edward that were going to die. Ultimately, George is executed for having plotted with Louis XI to murder Edward and usurp him. Anne suggests that she and Richard return to Warwick Castle, and asks him if he truly loves her; Richard embraces her tightly, reaffirming their relationship. Personality Category:Yorkists Category:House of York Category:Characters Category:Kings Category:Deceased